Apparatus for removal of tips from scrap cigarettes



Dec. 21, 1965 G. DEARSLEY 3,224,451

APPARATUS FOR REMOVAL OF TIPS FROM SCRAP CIGARETTES Filed May 9, 1963 FIG. I

-INVENTOR a: GE DEARSLEY 25 25 I ATTO NEY United States Patent Office Patented Dec. 21, 1965 3,224,451 APPARATUS FOR REMOVAL OF TIPS FROM SCRAP CIGARETTES George Dearsley, London, England, assignor to American Machine & Foundry Company, a corporation of New Jersey Filed May 9, 1963, Ser. No. 279,203 Claims priority, application Great Britain, May 11, 1962, 18,316/ 62 13 Claims. (Cl. 131-20) This invention relates to the removal of filter tips from scrap filter tipped cigarettes and has for an object the provision of apparatus for the removal of such tips in bulk.

In any manufacturing process such as is employed in the manufacturing and packaging of cigarettes, a certain amount of sub-standard work is inevitably produced during the setting up and running of cigarette making and packing machinery. It will be appreciated that although such cigarettes may be below the desired standard, the tobacco contained therein is perfectly good and as such it is the custom to recover the tobacco and return it to the cigarette making machine where it is used together with new tobacco for the manufacture of normal cigarettes.

In the case of plain cigarettes the recovery of tobacco from scrap work presents no real problem for it is merely necessary to slit the paper of the cigarette to enable the tobacco to be extracted by any suitable means. As this recovery process has been going on for many years, machinery has been evolved which is generally speaking reasonably satisfactory for this purpose.

Within recent years the situation has become complicated by the growing popularity of filter tipped cigarettes. The term filter tipped cigarettes must be taken to mean any tobacco or smoking material ciga rette which is fitted with a mouthpiece of different material such as crepe paper alone or interleaved with other materials, or synthetic fibers arranged in bundles generally longitudinally either alone or in conjunction with other materials. Even a different class of tobacco is sometimes used to provide the mouthpiece. The usual manufacture of such tipped cigarettes generally includes the steps of producing the tobacco containing portion of filter cigarettes, fixing the tip portions thereto by butting the tip tightly against the tobacco cigarette and overwrapping the outside with a thin sheet of some paper-like material which is adhesively secured to both portions producing the composite cigarette. This has adequate mechanical strength to provide a satisfactory article for smoking, but it will be appreciated that as the tip is secured to the tobacco portion of the cigarette merely by a single overwrap of paper-like material, a weak point exists at the junction, which fact may be taken advantage of when it is desired to remove such tips from scrap cigarettes.

It will be understood that if scrap tipped cigarettes are passed through the usual apparatus employed for recovery of tobacco from plain cigarettes, the result is likely to be unsatisfactory for, generally speaking, the paper wrappers of such tobacco cigarettes are slit by means of knives to make possible the extraction of the tobacco, and should this apparatus be used in the same way on tipped cigarettes, the tip itself would also be slit by the knife used for slitting the paper of the main cigarette, thus causing the tip material to be mixed with the tobacco, rendering it useless for smoking.

Accordingly, the recovery of tobacco from scrap tipped cigarettes has in the past presented some difficulty. Generally, most methods of approach have been to remove the tips from such cigarettes and to pass the remaining tobacco portion through existing equipment for the recovery of the tobacco. Even today, the removal of such tips is sometimes performed manually, and what machinery does exist functions rather slowly, for generally speaking, it consists of apparatus in which the cigarettes are fed in a single line in a direction normal to their axes, past devices for either cutting, pulling or breaking off the tips by suitable knives, grippers or fingers, etc. These methods are not very satisfactory, because it is not easy to arrange cigarettes in a single line at very high speeds and, as frequently happens with scrap cigarettes, if the scrap Work consists of cigarettes which have been bent or otherwise mutilated, it is very dilficult, or even impossible to feed them in a single line as described above.

An object of this invention is to provide apparatus for removing the tips from scrap tipped cigarettes in bulk, which apparatus will not be sensitive to the condition of the cigarettes being fed through it, so that it may deal with flattened or bent cigarettes with less difficulty. Generally speaking, it is the existing practice to collect scrap tipped cigarettes in cigarette trays with the tips facing all in one direction. It is intended that this procedure be continued for the purpose of this invention.

According to the invention apparatus for removing the filter tip portions from filter tipped cigarettes comprise means for collecting the cigarettes side by side with their tipped ends facing in one and the same direction, a device for gripping the collected cigarettes in a direction normal to their axes and means for severing the tips from the cigarettes while they are so gripped. The device for gripping the collected cigarettes in bulk is adapted to convey the cigarettes so gripped past the tip severing means which may be a rotatable paddle wheel for knocking olf the tips, or a rotary cutter for severing the tips.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 represents diagrammatically a front elevation of a tip removal apparatus;

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the same apparatus with a paddle member for removing the tips, partly in section; and

FIG. 3 is a partial side view similar to FIG. 2 but showing an alternate embodiment utilizing a knife-edged rotary disc for severing the tips.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawing, trays 1 of tipped cigarettes 2 are stacked on a platform 3 ready to be pushed forward above a cigarette hopper 4 having sides 5, 6, 7 and 8, such moving forward being accomplished manually or automatically by known means. When a tray of cigarettes is in position, above the cigarette hopper, a lower slat 9 of the tray 1 is removed in a known manner so that the cigarettes flow down through the hopper, to be operated upon. It will be appreciated that this is only one method of feeding cigarettes to the apparatus which has been chosen by way of an example, other manual, semi-automatic, and auto matic methods being available. Vibrators 10 extending across the hopper preclude the backing up of cigarettes. The vibrators 10 have been omitted in FIG. 2 as it is considered that showing them therein would tend to obscure the showing the cigarette infeed. Hopper side walls 7 and 8 are parallel to the axes of the cigarettes, and converge downwardly toward the cigarette gripping means to be described.

The cigarette hopper feeds a broad stream of cigarettes downwardly in a direction normal to the axes of the cigarettes to the entry of a downwardly converging channel 11 defined by the endless belts 12 and 13 around pulleys 14 and 15 and 16 and 17, respectively. Just before the entry of the cigarettes into this converging channel they are caused to flow between a pair of driven rollers 18 and;1 9 in'order to transversely align the ends of the cigarettes, but other means, such as fixed guide plates, may be employed in place of these rollers. The rollers 18 and 19 advantageously coact to stuif the cigarettes into channel -11 tomaintain acontinuous charge therein. The broad stream of cigarettes, .upon entering the converging channel 11 between the'belts 12 and 13, moves downwardly and is progressively gripped as it proceeds, the-,belts being drivenat substantially the same speed, until it ultimately reaches a condition where the cigarettes are so tightly packed together that they are held sufficiently firmly to withstandthe stress of removing the tips ,therefrom.' The opposed runs of belts. 12 and 13.are provided with backup plates 20 and--21 to aid this purpose.

' A rotating paddle-like member 22 is arranged to emgage the filter tips of the firmly compacted stream of cigarettes as they progress through the converging channel 11. As shown in FIG. 1,.the paddles of the member 22.are slightly wider than the total Width of channel 11, the width of which latter is fixed by practical consideration, such as the number of defective cigarettes that are required to be processed in a particularplant in a given time. The width-of the channel and .speed of the paddles ,in a typical installation is set for 1800 cigarettes per minute. It is found that the cigarette tips are easily knocked off under these conditions by such a paddle member, leaving the tobacco portion of the cigarettes gripped in the converging channel. The direction of rotation of the paddle-like member may be in the same direction as the movement of the stream of cigarettes, providing its peripheral velocity is moderately faster than that of the compacted cigarettes. Due to the weakness existing at the junction of the tip and the tobacco portion of the cigarettes, as described above, it has been found that thetip may be broken from the tobacco cigarette very cleanly by a paddle member of this sort even when the tips ,vary in length as sometimes happens in 'scrap work, thereby avoiding undue degradation of the tobacco remaining in the tobacco portion of the cigarette.

' The tips removed by'the paddle member 22 are conducted away by a chute 23 into any suitable separating device, for example the rotary sieve 24, in which the tips are tumbled and through which any tobacco particles remaining on them will pass into the box 25 below, the tips progressing axially through the sieve 24 to spill out of the end into a box 26. The all tobacco portions 27 of the cigarettes'remaining in the converging channel 1 1,will continue to move downwardly until they feed out of the channel at which point-they fall on to any suitable device such as conveyor band 28 trained around a pair of drums of which only one, 29, is shown, or' intoa chute from which they are collected in boxes; in either case the all tobacco cigarettesso collected are transported to 'existing tobaceo recovery machinery of known design. i

As an alternative to the paddle member 22, the tips maybe removed fromthe cigarettes by a rotary knife 30 which, .as shown in FIG. 3, is arranged to sever the tips from .the composite cigarettes.

The .knife 30 is a .disc having a knife edge, the plane of't'he disc being disposed parallel to the edges of the channel belts -12 and 13 and normal to the direction of cigarette feed. The knife edge is adapted to sever the filter tips from the composite cigarettes being fed through channel -11. All other components of this embodiment of the invention are identical in construction, arrangement and operation with the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2.

The apparatus described above is intended to provide a method of removing tips cleanly from filter tipped cigarettes at a high rate of speed by forming the cigarettes into a moving stream whose width is many times one cigarette diameter, gripping the sides of such a stream as it is advanced to rigidly support the cigarettes one against the other and against the side walls feeding the stream forwardly, severing the tips from the cigarettes when they are so gripped, and directing the tips into a different channel from that into which the remaining tobacco portionsof the cigarettes are fed.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for removing the filter tip portions from filter tipped cigarettes comprising means for feeding-the cigarettes in a direction transversely of their longitudinal axes while said cigarettes are in abutting relationship, both side by side generally horizontally and top and bottom generally vertically, with their tipped ends facing in the same direction and in the form of a continuous stream of a width to accommodate at least two cigarettes, means for compressing the stream of cigarettes, so that the generally vertical layers are compacted and the generally horizontal layers are subjected to increasing compaction, to form a relatively dense solid unitary cigarette mass, and means comprising a single rotary element, wider than said mass, engageable substantially simultaneously with all of the cigarettes in a generally horizontal layer, to sever the filter tips therefrom, while they are so compacted.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which the means for removing'the tips is a rotatable paddle wheel disposed alongside the stream of compacted cigarettes and adapted to .knock on the tips.

3. Apparatus according to claim .1, in which the cigarette 'tip removing means is a rotary cutter disposed alongside the stream of compacted cigarettes and adapted to cut ofi the tips.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which the, cigarette feeding means includes a'hopperand a plurality of trays slidably mounted to deliver cigarettes in said abutting both side by side and topland bottom relationship into said hopper. A

5. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which the cigarettecompacting means includes two endless conveyors having oppos'ed vertical straight portions converging downwardly and adapted to receive therebetween the stream of cigarettes. i i

6. Apparatus according to claim 1 including means for transversely aligning thecigarette ends before the cigarette stream reaches the compacting means. d

7. Apparatus for removing the "filter portions from filter tipped cigarettes, comprising a vertical cigarette feed hopper having a downwardly converging pair of opposed walls terminating at the hopper outlet, means for feeding a batch of cigarettes into said hopper with the longitudinal cigarette axes substantially v parallel to said hopper walls, means for transversely aligning the ends of the cigarettes as they are delivered'as ast ream frorn said hopper, a pair of endless conveyorbelts disposedbelow said hopper, having opposed downwardly converging straight portions adapted to receive the cigarette stream from said hopper in generally horizontal layers, each layer-having a plurality of cigarettes in abutting generally side by side relationship, with the layers alsolabutting an adjacent layer above and an adjacent layer below,-to form the cigarette mass with the filter portions protruding from between the opposed belt straight portions with all ofthe filters in uniform vertical alignment, means disposed alongside the edges of the conveyor belts on the filter side of the cigarette stream for severing the filters from the cigarettes, and means for separately'collecting the severed filters and the cigarettes.

8. Apparatus for removing the filter portions from filter tipped cigarettes, comprising a vertical cigarette feed hopper having a downwardly converging pair of opposed walls terminating at the hopper outlet, means for feeding a batch of cigarettes into said hopperin side by side relationship with the longitudinal cigarette axes substantially parallel to said hopper walls, means for transversely alignmg the ends of the cigarettes as they are delivered ,as a

stream from said hopper, a pair of endless conveyor belts disposed below said hopper, having opposed downwardly converging straight portions adapted to receive the cigarette stream from said hopper and press said stream transversely of the longitudinal axes of the cigarettes to form a compact stream of a thickness to accommodate at least two cigarettes with the filter portions protruding from between the opposed belt straight portions, means disposed alongside the edges of the conveyor belts on the filter side of the cigarette stream for severing the filters from said cigarettes, means for separately collecting the severed filters and the cigarettes, said means for aligning the ends of the cigarettes including a pair of horizontally spaced parallel rollers disposed with their axes transverse to the axes of the cigarettes and mounted between the hopper outlet and the upper end of the opposed conveyor straight portions, the distance between the opposed drum surfaces being substantially the length of a filter tipped cigarette.

9. Apparatus according to claim 7, in which the means for severing the filters from the cigarettes is a rotary paddle wheel mounted alongside an intermediate portion of said downwardly converging conveyor straight portions and adapted to knock off the filters as the cigarette stream is conveyed past the paddle wheel.

10. Apparatus according to claim 7, in which the means for severing the filters from the cigarettes includes a rotary knife-edged disc disposed in a vertical plane alongside of and with its upper surface at an intermediate portion of said downwardly converging conveyor straight portions, the rotary disc being adapted to sever the filters as the cigarette stream is conveyed past the upper surface of the disc.

11. In apparatus for removing the filter tips from filter tipped cigarettes, means for feeding a continuous stream of cigarettes transversely of their axes in multi-unit rows extending generally in the direction of feed and also transversely thereof, with the filter tips facing in the same direction, means for transversely aligning the ends of said cigarettes, and a pair of endless conveyor belts having opposed straight portions spaced apart and travelable in the same direction at substantially the same speed, said opposed straight portions being adapted to receive and transversely compress the stream of cigarettes therebetween to form a dense compact cigarette mass with the filter tips protruding from between the conveyor straight portions, and filter tip severing means disposed in the path of the filter tips of the compacted cigarette stream.

12. The combination according to claim 11, in which the opposed conveyor straight portions converge in their direction of travel, whereby to progressively increase the compaction of the cigarette stream.

13. The combination according to claim 12, including stationary rigid back-up plates for said opposed conveyor straight portions.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 174,277 2/ 1876 Montes. 1,892,257 12/1932 Smith 13166 2,038,612 4/1936 Solomon 13120 2,682,983 7/1954 Ashcroft 5315 l 2,815,029 12/1957 Exner 131-96 X 2,957,508 10/1960 Mason 146119 FOREIGN PATENTS 20,493 1911 Great Britain.

SAMUEL KOREN, Primary Examiner.

JOSEPH S. REICH, Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR REMOVING THE FILTER TIP PORTIONS FROM FILTER TIPPED CIGARETTES COMPRISING MEANS FOR FEEDING THE CIGARETTES IN A DIRECTION TRANSVERSELY OF THEIR LONGITUDINAL AXES WHILE SAID CIGARETTES ARE IN ABUTTING RELATIONSHIP, BOTH SIDE BY SIDE GENERALLY HORIZONTALLY AND TOP AND BOTTOM GENERALLY VERTICALLY, WITH THEIR TIPPED ENDS FACING IN THE SAME DIRECTION AND IN THE FORM OF A CONTINUOUS STREAM OF A WIDTH TO ACCOMMODATING AT LEAST TWO CIGARETTES, MEANS FOR COMPRESSING THE STREAM OF CIGARETTES, SO THAT THE GENERALLY VERTICAL LAYERS ARE COMPACTED AND THE GENERALLY HORIZONTAL LAYERS ARE SUBJECTED TO INCREASING COMPACTION, TO FORM A RELATIVELY DENSE SOLID UNITARY CIGARETTE MASS, AND MEANS COMPRISING A SINGLE ROTARY ELEMENT, WIDER THAN SAID MASS, ENGAGEABLE SUBSTANTIALLY SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH ALL OF THE CIGARETTES IN A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL LAYER, TO SEVER THE FILTER TIPS THEREFROM, THILE THEY ARE SO COMPACTED. 